The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion: review

A novel about Asperger’s is let down by sentimentality, says Catherine
Scott.

4

Films such as Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close feature protagonists with high functioning forms of autism.

By Catherine Scott

12:00PM BST 30 Apr 2013

One of the most common assumptions about people with autism is that they all possess extraordinary mental capabilities, when in fact only a small minority do; the majority of autistic people actually have some form of learning disability. This uncomfortable truth has been evaded by popular books such as Mark Haddon’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which instead centre on protagonists with Asperger’s syndrome, a “high functioning” form of autism. The Rosie Project is no exception, following the dating mishaps of a socially naive genetics professor, Don Tillman. Don himself remains unaware that he fits the profile for Asperger’s, despite the book opening with him preparing to give a lecture on Asperger’s syndrome – the first of several occurrences that prick our scepticism.

Although we are told early on that “Most adults with Asperger’s syndrome don’t know they have it”, it seems unlikely that the highly intelligent, analytical and extremely well-informed Don would be one such adult. Therefore, the dramatic irony created by the blissfully unaware Don regularly describing stock features of Asperger’s in reference to himself – “I am not good at non-verbal communication”; “Unlike many people, I am very comfortable with repetition” – feels manufactured and unconvincing.

That said, Graeme Simsion’s depiction of the inflexible and obsessive nature of the autist is obviously very well researched and mostly well rendered. The “Project” of the title – Don’s attempt to find a wife using “a purpose-built, scientifically valid” questionnaire – is certainly characteristic of the autistic tendency to approach emotional issues with science and reason. In this way, Simsion does a good job of demystifying autistic behaviour by pointing out that much of the sufferer’s apparent rudeness is done “not out of malice, but just because I am wired to think of facts before others’ feelings”.

However, Simsion ultimately undoes his good work by implying that love can conquer all. As Nick Hornby – the father of an autistic son – has written, it’s a mistake to believe that people with autism must contain a “normal” personality “trapped inside, waiting for release”. It seems unlikely that, having lived by a rigid schedule for 40 years, Don would suddenly start altering himself in pursuit of a wife. Although Simsion relies on the notion that “love is a powerful feeling … often defying logic” to convince us, he forgets that most Asperger’s sufferers would be more inclined to cling to logic and jettison love. The idea that Don would be more content alone is supported by his fantasy of doing his job with “no students … perhaps I could teach via video-link at a university in another time zone”, yet Simsion persists with the neurotypical assumption that everyone is happier in a couple.

For those unaware of Asperger’s syndrome and its foibles, The Rosie Project could serve as a gentle and funny introduction. Those who already understand the condition may object to the moral that mental difference can and must be erased.